CivilWarTalk Throwback Thursday, 1-2-2020

James N.

Colonel
Annual Winner
Featured Book Reviewer
Asst. Regtl. Quartermaster Antietam 2021
Joined
Feb 23, 2013
Location
East Texas
Galveston.jpg


This first Throwback Thursday of the new decade revisits a 1980 reenactment of one of the lesser-known engagements of the Civil War, the New Years' Day 1863 Battle of Galveston, Texas. The battle is best known as a naval engagement in which the Federal blockading fleet was driven from Galveston Bay and one vessel, the Star of The West, was rammed, boarded, and captured in a hand-to-hand fight in one of the few such incidents of the type which occurred during the war. It is less well-remembered that it was also a land battle in which four companies of the 42nd Massachusetts Infantry which had been serving as a garrison for the captured Confederate island port were themselves captured in a street fight that drove them out onto a pier where they surrendered to the larger Rebel force led by Maj. Gen. "Prince John" Bankhead Magruder. This photo was taken on The Strand amid period buildings in Downtown Galveston's Historic District where the fighting began and the reenactment was held. Our company of Texas authentic Federals above then using the name Union Rifles represented the occupying force; Yours Truly is in the approximate center of the rear rank. Other stalwarts I recognize who have been mentioned here previously include Sergeant Glen Smith and Privates Colin Smith, Ed Owens, John Gattis, Lewis Iselin, Mike Hubbard and Glen Hargis, plus other members of the North Texas Reenactment Society.

Anyone else having (preferably) old Civil War-related photos, mementoes, or memorabilia from reenactments, living history or other events, vacations, or other travel is welcome and encouraged to post them here in this weekly thread!
 
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at that earlier time, were some of these troop's guns actual artifacts?
Mine definitely was - I never owned a replica while doing infantry. My first was an 1865-dated Enfield that had at sometime been bored out to smoothbore for issue to British native colonial troops; the second was an 1863-dated 1861 Special Model made by Lamson, Goodnow, and Yale (LG&Y) that was subsequently stolen in a burglary. I don't remember which one I was using here, but it was probably the Enfield. At that time various Enfield replicas like Parker-Hales were probably the most common guns in reenactor ranks.
 
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